Good Morning:

• They say that there is an “ether” or “net” that connects everything – hence the origin of the terms “Inter” and “Ether” net when Al Gore named his new invention.
• He was on a roll then as they had just made the movie “Love Story” about his marriage to Tipper. I have been waiting for the sequel all these years, but apparently, Tipper is no longer on board with the project.
• I thought of this yesterday, as Al Gore lost it over the Climate Scam at Davos’s World Economic Forum (“WEF”) meeting. Rumor has it that he was so upset that his Lear Jet spewed exhaust as it screeched tires up the runway on his way out. 
• The WEF convention of mostly communists continued unabated in Davos this week. There is a lot of focus on right speech and disinformation – as they are having a lot of trouble controlling the narrative. Think how much easier it must have been when there were only three television networks/channels, and the government owned the fourth (PBS).
• The War in Ukraine is on their minds too. There were a lot of commission checks from the Defense Industry waiting for everyone as their FTX accounts had been closed. Russia has to be defeated – even though their subs are sitting off the U.S. East and West coast with supersonic Nukes that could take out New York and L.A. in three minutes. Maybe we should message Putin – a well-placed nuke in Davos might solve many problems. Perhaps that is why 5000 Swiss troops are guarding the conference.
• But there are other panels in the WEF meeting too. You know – setting rules like you can only wash your jeans twice a week. There is a need for washing machines that can tattle on you if you break the rules. And there is a lot of talk about “indoor” air pollution this year. This way, they can get control of your thermostat too, and put in some “monitoring” devices inside your home to “help” you maintain clean air.
• Did you know that a few day’s ago, the WEF tweeted out a little ad with a happy woman who said, and I quote, “I own nothing and have no privacy, but I have never been happier?” Truly, you cannot make this stuff up!
• But my favorite proposal these days is their latest to eliminate gas stoves and furnaces. I can only postulate that the WEF wants to make everyone dependent on an electric grid that is already wholly inadequate for its current load. That should make us even less secure in an EMP or cyber attack that takes out the grid, right?
• But the grid does have the convenience of a switch to shut you off if you are a bad boy or girl. It is not unlike the new digital money they are proposing, which can also be turned on and off if you speak out against the regime. It is all about control – and controlling every aspect of your life.
• And worldwide, we see people taking to the streets to protest the WEF and more. Millions of people are protesting everywhere but here in the good ole USA. Truly our citizens are the proverbial frogs in boiling water. Rome burns while we all fiddle, and Nuclear War gets even closer as the West existentially threatens Russia’s existence. What would you do if you were Putin? It is a reasonable question.
• Who would have thought that Russia would be defending faith, family, and freedom against the communist vision of the Davos-dominated West? But that is exactly what is happening.
• And I lay all this crazy groundwork as the financial community had trouble explaining yesterday’s seemingly inexplicable reversal. Fed comments? Really? 
• And it should not be any stranger that I dreamed about yesterday’s reversal exactly how it unfolded the night before – down to the moment in front of the chart and selling the small runner we had left at the stop. Maybe I am finally getting ahead of this market in my morning meditations. That gives me access to the real ether no offense to Al and his invention).
• As if this weren’t strange enough, Doc, when I had to be put in a coma during the summer of 2020 due to an allergic reaction, I found myself falling into colorful three-dimensional market charts where I could see behind them and around them. I could make out shapes like tetrahedrons, spheres, and cylindrical tunnels. It was as if there were other dimensions to the charts that we could not see on paper.
• Time for a vacation…
• The catalyst for yesterday’s decline is actually more subtle. Saudi Arabia announced the end of the Petrodollar. 
• Oil will no longer be priced and settled solely and exclusively in U.S. Dollars. Folks, this is a watershed event and directly threatens the supremacy of the U.S. Dollar in the global markets. That is your catalyst – and we had already anticipated a decline to start soon anyway.
• This loss of Dollar hegemony will be catastrophic for the U.S. and its endless pursuit of debt and deficits. We the people will be the ones to suffer, as always. You think you have seen inflation? As the saying goes – “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
• And why wouldn’t the Saudis break the U.S. Dollar pact that has reined since the end of World War II? All this woke bullshit about oil and natural gas threatens their oil sales and exports. The Orwell Regime has been spitting in Saudi Arabia’s face since Orwell himself stole his way into office.
• And China? They have to import everything, mostly oil. Wouldn’t it be logical for China to hook up with the Saudis and the Russians? Does anyone in the Orwell Regime or WEF have a brain?
• The West’s war with Russia IS about energy and natural resources. But this time it is antithetical. In this case, Russia won’t bow to the Davos crowd and join the woke cabal requiring them to stop using and exporting fossil fuels. 
• Why would Russia clamp down on the use and export of oil and other natural resources? Natural resources and food are Russia’s main exports. So they have to be taken out – just like Trump supporters. Dissent is not permitted in the new, woke regime.
• I suppose the difference is that Russia already had its bout with communism, and they want nothing of the kind for their future. The failed ideology did not work and will never work because it is antithetical to human nature and natural law.
• Did you know that Russian schools are required by law to teach the horrors and failures of communism? It reminds me of what I was taught growing up before the teacher’s unions began imposing their communist teachings on the recent generations.
• And so, here we are, apparently starting the decline into the February low we have been forecasting for months. No surprises for us. We know what to expect and when to expect it, so we tune in at the right time.
• Not that we are perfect. Checking the math, I was a little off on the turn window. The original window started on the 12-13th. I did miscalculate – as it should have been the 15-16th. But the MLK holiday threw the date off a bit, and the 17th is close enough. 
• We look for the zone, then tune the Navigator Algorithms into the reversal window. And we dialed the strategy down to a small runner each time we approached the top of the bull channel.
• Finally arriving at my destination after a couple of glitches, I will not be fully set up until tomorrow, so there is no Trading Room today. We will make up for it by running the room every day next week.
• Let’s see where this sell-off takes us. I have no prediction yet, but the Elliott Wave traders argue that this is the draconian “3” wave down that we all like to avoid unless we are short.
• Keep your head on in this insanity, and make sure your Plan “B” is out and ready. Gold is finally moving, so I hope you have taken my advice to keep acquiring small denomination coins over these past few years. You will be glad you did. 
• Watch the 50-handle levels for temporary support if the market gets into a waterfall decline. The October 13th low is a good first target if the downturn accelerates.
• Sometimes it takes a few swipes in each direction before the market settles on a solid turn, so watch out for the whipsaws.

As always, stay tuned.

A.F. Thornton